I survived Band Camp! Two weeks of seeing the same people for seven hours a day, and sweating gallons of water, and now it's over! I now have a bad tan to show for my troubles, but it'll go away once marching season is over.

Fuyu Taki: I, myself, am not very knowledgeable of Yu Yu Hakusho, so I'll just use what parts I know. This'll be interesting. Hiei, emotionless wonder, meets his surrogate mother. Oh, yes, that'll definitely be interesting.

&&

Yusuke was very surprised to find Hiei waiting for him when he got home. The little fire demon was almost dancing from one foot to the other with impatience.

"Where have you been?" Hiei demanded.

"Um, I was out with Keiko," he replied slowly. "Something you need?"

"Koenma has given me an extra assignment. Do you know where the Higurashi Shrine is?"

"Yeah, it's that way." He pointed in the direction of the shrine. "It's within walking distance. Did you want some company?"

"Does it matter whether I want it or not?" he asked.

"Nope, not really," said Yusuke cheerfully, receiving death glares from the little Koorime.

&&

Half an hour later, the Spirit Detective and the fire demon were at the base of the steep steps of the shrine. "Man, no wonder those girls are in such good shape," Yusuke panted, sitting down on the bottom step.

"What girls?" asked Hiei.

"The ones that live here. They're in all my classes. I think there's a sophomore that lives here too, but I'm not sure."

"Hn. See you at the top, Detective." The climb wasn't too much for Hiei. All he did was jump over the stairs and he was at the top. Looking around, he noticed how many old buildings there were. A door opened and out stepped a boy. He didn't look like Kagome, but you never know.

The boy turned to him and said, "Welcome to the Higurashi Shrine. Can I help you with something?"

Hiei, a bit unprepared for talking, said, "I was just looking around. I once knew a Higurashi, and wondered if they still lived here."

"They sold the place, but two of them came back. You can meet them if you want."

"No, that's fine. I'll just look around, if that's okay."

The boy shrugged, then smiled. "Look away. Just be careful around some of the buildings." He left Hiei and went down the stairs.

He heard him find Yusuke, who was trying to climb up the steep stairs.

Ignoring them, he walked around, looking at what was put up. There were a lot more buildings than he first thought. Eventually losing himself in the maze of sheds, he found himself looking at a tree. Again, his memory was triggered by the enormous Goshinboku. I remember this, he thought excitedly. It was in Inuyasha's Forest, next to the Bone Eater's Well. They all told me to stay away from it because it was dangerous. Yes, this whole place used to be Inuyasha's Forest!

He looked up and still saw where Inuyasha would perch in its branches. He could almost see him up there. Then he shook his head. They are all dead. Shippo might be alive, but he would be the only one. I never did see them again. I wonder how they were when I was taken? He did miss them. It was because of them that he began to grow cold, more aloof from the other thieves. They eventually threw him out because of his attitude. He had tried to find a way back to them, but he couldn't. So he fought for a living.

He turned away from the Goshinboku. There's no point in visiting memories. They won't come back, no matter what you do. This thought almost made him cry. Almost. He didn't cry; he stopped years ago. He wouldn't start again now. More somber, he walked past Yusuke, who had just made it to the top. "I'm done here for now. Thanks for showing the way."

He ignored Yusuke's plea to wait. If he stayed, he might actually cry from all the memories here; his best memories.

&&

Hiei's acting strange, thought Yusuke, watching the fire demon walk away. I could have sworn he looked sad. But that's just not Hiei.

"Can I help you?" asked a voice from behind him. He spun around and came face-to-face with one of his classmates, Robin Smith.

"Um, I was here with someone, but then he decided to leave. So I'll have to do the sight-seeing on my own."

"Did you want a tour?" she asked.

"Sure, a tour would be great!" Now what have I gotten myself into?

She gave him a tour of the whole place. He never would have dreamed that this place was so big! And only she, Kagome, Sota, and Michael lived here.

"So, if there's only four of you, who runs this place when you're in school?"

"We have to close it. But when the schools start coming for field trips, the principal has given us permission to skip school, and will gladly give us volunteers to help out."

"How often will they come?"

"We already have a few scheduled, and Mr. Takenaka has offered to let his classes come on a field trip sometime. Would you be willing to come?"

"Sure! I'll even help out."

"I didn't think you liked doing that kind of thing."

"Well, it's part of school, so Keiko won't yell at me, and I won't have to sit in class. This is great!"

She smiled at his enthusiasm. "Well, feel free to come in three weeks. We're expecting our first field trip then."

"Yes!"

&&

The next weeks went by in a flash. Just about everyone wanted to help out. Of course, most of them wanted to do it for the same reason Yusuke did, but each person helped. The Sunday before the first field trip, the 'tour guides' were shown what they would show the people. The Bone Eater's Well was off limits (one guess why) and so was the house. Everything else was shown. The other helpers would sell souvenirs and refreshments next to exhibits. Michael and Robin set up the refreshment and souvenir booths with the students who would man them, and Kagome showed the path of the tour.

The helpers arrived bright and early, and everything was set up except for the food and drinks. That was taken care of quickly enough. Now all that was needed was the students.

&&